Shooting, kidnapping suspect described as 'time bomb'

Devon Whaley's history of domestic violence is well-documented in the thick file of court records obtained by ABC11.

The records detail a series of scary incidents -- all leading up to last Friday night in Youngsville, when neighbors heard gunshots and dialed 911.

"I just heard two shots next door to me," said Desiree Hopkins' next-door neighbor as she alerted a Franklin County 911 dispatcher to the horror on the other side of her wall at the Hampton Village Apartments.

Youngsville Police say it was Whaley, Hopkins' ex-boyfriend and the father of her 1-year old child Desaree, firing the gun -- shooting Hopkins in the leg and stomach.

"When I looked, the guy was dragging his girlfriend down the stairs," the neighbor says. "And now when I looked outside there is blood coming from their apartment outside."

That's when Hopkins got loose in a desperate attempt to escape.

"She was trying to get away. She was dragged down the stairs and trying to get away," said Youngsville Police Chief Daren Kirts. "And she wrecked (her car) down there."

Shot and wounded, Hopkins crashed head-on into a tree just down the road.